JASON KEITH FERNANDES
There is a way in which Catholics could do poli tics differently from oth ers. Catholic politics would be premised on the recognition of not just the natural, but the supernatural as well. It would recognise the presence not just of time and limited life times, but also the existence of eternity. Finally, it would recognise the existence of God and His saints, living in eter nity, and God presiding over all time as the just judge who does, and will, call all things to account. Such a response is par ticularly necessary after the recent insults directed at St Francis Xavier by a hired influencer. The response to these insults hurled against Goa’s patron saint has ranged from the popular – the howl of protests against the dis respect to the informal sov ereign of Goa; the legal – the police complaints and the subsequent judicial process; the social – the heartwarming reassurance that St Francis Xavier is dear to the hearts of not just Catholics in Goa, but Hindus, Muslims and others too. Surprisingly, a religious, a properly Catholic, response was lacking amidst all the din. But there is a response waiting to be articulated! First, a Catholic response will begin from the assertion that St Francis Xavier is not dead but alive, and in heaven. In fact, it is because he is alive in heaven that we could have the miracle of his incorrupt remains in the first place.
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The freshness of his body, even months, years, and decades after death, was – and must be – understood as testament to the fact that Francis Xavier (as he was then) was most cer tainly a saint in heaven. If he is alive, and in heaven, then it makes sense that the first response ought to have been an apology to him, and to the God whom he so faithful ly served. Now, since one can hardly expect the unrepentant perpetrator of the foul lan guage to apologise, it stands to reason that this apology should be extended by some one else. Catholicism is rich in its re sponse to sin and recognises that reparation for sin can be offered by one for another. As such, when the perpetrator is unwilling to make repa ration for offence given, the same reparation can be made by others on his behalf. This reparation is best done by pilgrims through a penitential pilgrimage to the space where St Francis Xavier – the sover eign of Goa – rests. A couple of years ago, at the time of the exposition of 2024-25, I made the ac quaintance of a non-Goan, non-Christian, family that was hawking medicinal herbs and camping on the side of the road for the period. In one of our conversations, the matri arch of the family indicated that she wished to pass the New Year in Old Goa, in “the durbar of the saint.” I was struck by the Sufi imagery she drew upon. One normally refers to the tomb, or dargah, of the Sufi holy men as their darbars.
It is from this throne that they preside as Nizams, or gover nors, of Allah. In his important work, ‘The Sufis of Bijapur, 1300–1700: Social Roles of Sufis in Medieval India’, first published way back in 1978, the famous historian Richard Eaton pointed out that the Sultans of Bijapur claimed sovereignty over their terri tory, not through the exertion of military power alone, but by offering homage to various Sufi pirs. Each pir was under stood to exercise sovereignty over a particular territory, and in offering service to this pir, the Sultan claimed political sovereignty over this spiritual jurisdiction. One could be struck by the similarity be tween this Sufi logic and that of the Portuguese Estado da India, but then, we should not be surprised; the Estado did not exist in a vacuum; it was very much a South Asian in stitution. Using this lady’s imagery, it is to the Basilica of Bom Je sus, the court of Saint Francis Xavier that this penitential pilgrimage ought to travel, reaching there to prostrate before the saint to formally apologize for besmirching his fair name and staining his honour.
This pilgrimage would con sist of, and indeed be open to, not just Catholics, but all those Goan, and non-Goan, Catholic and non-Catholic, devotees of Saint Francis who have been offended by the re marks against him. Of course, the pluralism contained in such a pluri-creedal pilgrim age would only underscore the fact that the word catholic, literally means “universal” or “all-inclusive”! Such a pilgrimage would necessarily conclude with a Mass of reparation. The Mass, as we know, is a re-presenta tion of the sacrifice of Calvary, where the Son offered Himself as reparation for the sins of mankind. What we need to remember is that the offense given to St Francis Xavier was not given to him alone, but to the God who has made him one of His holy ones and permitted St Xavier’s body to defy the laws of nature for a time. As such, it is finally to Him that reparation must be made and apology given. The Mass is the perfect prayer, and this is what we must offer God who has been so crudely of fended. The organisation of such a pilgrimage would underscore to Saint Francis Xavier, and the God whom he serves, that his people (Goan, non-Goan, Catholic, non-Catholic) con tinue to hold him in high re gard.
More importantly, they would underscore before all the sovereigns and princes of this world, that it is at his shrine alone, a place where heaven and earth meet, where this contentious matter will truly be resolved. If Catholics, and other dev otees of the saint, can under stand these logics, then they would know that they are able to do Catholic politics, and not simply the politics of secular liberalism. To engage in Catho lic politics is not to displace the secular liberal State. This enti ty has a crucial role to play in dispensing secular justice, and it must play its role. However, the religious person knows that if the fullness of justice is to be realised, the justice of the world must also be sup plemented by divine justice. It is to this end that Catholic politics is eventually directed, supplementing the natural, with the supernatural to give completeness to our actions.
There are many in Goa, Catholic and non-Catholic, who are concerned that the uniqueness of our territory, where all lived in harmony, and more importantly love, is under threat. We must bear in mind that this bonhomie is the result of the blessings of St Francis Xavier, and we need to turn to him, for in this time of assault, he is our sure defence. St Francis Xavier, pray for us! (Jason Keith Fernandes is a legal scholar, anthropolo gist and theologian.)
